Crew: Brown, Duque, Glenn, Lindsey, Mukai, Parazynski, Robinson. First Spanish astronaut. Oldest man in space, longest gap between two flights for an astronaut. The flight of STS-95 provoked more publicity for NASA than any other flight in years. Spartan 201 satellite released and retrieved.

The flight of STS-95 provoked more publicity for NASA than any other flight in years, due to the presence of ex-astronaut Senator John Glenn on the crew, which also included the first Spanish astronaut, Pedro Duque. The US Navy PANSAT student satellite was deployed on Oct 30 into a 550 km x 561 x 28.5 degree orbit. The Spartan 201 satellite was deployed from Discovery on November 1 and retrieved on November 3. Spartan 201 was on its fifth mission to observe the solar corona. The data on this mission would be used to recalibrate the SOHO satellite which recently resumed observation of the Sun following loss of control. Discovery landed at 17:03:31 GMT November 7 on Runway 33 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

October 29, 1998, 2:19:34 p.m. EST. At 12:30 p.m., the hatch was closed with crew inside the Space Shuttle Discovery, just as President Bill Clinton's Air Force One plane touched down at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station skid strip. The countdown proceeded to T-9 minutes, but was held an additional 8.5 minutes while the launch team discussed the status of a master alarm heard during cabin leak checks after hatch closure. Once the count picked up and the Orbiter Access Arm was retracted, the Range Safety Officer (RSO) requested a hold at T-5 minutes due to aircraft in the restricted air space around KSC. Once the aircraft cleared the area, the RSO gave the all-clear signal and the countdown proceeded. Following main engine start, and prior to booster ignition, the drag chute compartment door fell off but posed no problem for the mission. Managers decided not to deploy the chute upon landing.

The primary objectives of STS-95 included conducting a variety of science experiments in the pressurized SPACEHAB module, the deployment and retrieval of the Spartan free-flyer payload, and operations with the Hubble Space Telescope Orbiting Systems Test (HOST) and the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker payloads being carried in the payload bay. The scientific research mission also returned space pioneer John Glenn to orbit - 36 years, eight months and nine days after he became the first American to orbit the Earth.

A slate of more than 80 experiments filled the nearly nine days in space. In addition to a variety of medical and material research, the crew released the Petite Amateur Naval Satellite, or PANSAT, to test innovative technologies to capture and transmit radio signals that normally would be lost because the original signals were too weak or contained too much interference. The crew also released the Spartan free-flying satellite to study the sun and the solar wind in a research effort to help scientists better understand a phenomenon that sometimes can cause widespread disruptions of communications and power supplies on Earth.

Medical research during the mission included a battery of tests on Payload Specialist Glenn and Mission Specialist Pedro Duque to further research how the absence of gravity affects balance and perception, immune system response, bone and muscle density, metabolism and blood flow, and sleep.

The Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test provided an on-orbit test bed for hardware that will be used during the third Hubble servicing mission.

Mission Objectives - The primary mission objectives are to successfully perform the planned operations of the four primary payloads: SPACEHAB, HOST, IEH-03, and SPARTAN-201.

GlennGlenn, John Herschel Jr (1921-) American test pilot astronaut, later a politician and US Senator. First American in orbit on his first flight, Mercury MA-6, in 1962, and oldest person in space on his second flight, STS-95, in 1998. More...

STS The Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle) was conceived originally as a completely reusable system that would provide cheap, routine access to space and replace all American and civilian military launch vehicles. Crippled by technological overreach, political compromise, and budget limitations, it instead ended up costing more than the expendable rockets it was to have replaced. STS sucked the money out of all other NASA projects for half a century. The military abandoned its use after the Challenger shuttle explosion in the 1980's. More...

Associated Launch Sites

Cape Canaveral America's largest launch center, used for all manned launches. Today only six of the 40 launch complexes built here remain in use. Located at or near Cape Canaveral are the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, used by NASA for Saturn V and Space Shuttle launches; Patrick AFB on Cape Canaveral itself, operated the US Department of Defense and handling most other launches; the commercial Spaceport Florida; the air-launched launch vehicle and missile Drop Zone off Mayport, Florida, located at 29.00 N 79.00 W, and an offshore submarine-launched ballistic missile launch area. All of these take advantage of the extensive down-range tracking facilities that once extended from the Cape, through the Caribbean, South Atlantic, and to South Africa and the Indian Ocean. More...

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 01 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Duque; Glenn; Lindsey; Mukai; Parazynski; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. The Shuttle Discovery blasted off into a cloudless sky today at 1:19 p.m. Central time from the Kennedy Space Center to kick off a planned nine-day scientific research mission and to return John Glenn to space, 36 years, 8 months and nine days after he became the first American to orbit the Earth. Additional Details: here....

1998 October 29 - .

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 02 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Curbeam; Glenn; Mukai; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Summary: The crew of Discovery sailed through an opening day in orbit this afternoon, staying ahead of schedule for the most part as they prepared the spacecraft and a slate of more than 80 experiments for nine days in orbit.. Additional Details: here....

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 06 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Glenn; Parazynski; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Summary: Discovery's crew spent much of the last half of today in preparation for tomorrow's planned release of the Spartan solar science satellite, checking out the tools and equipment that will be used during the release and separation from the satellite.. Additional Details: here....

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 08 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Glenn; Mukai; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's crew released a second satellite today, a telescope package that will fly free of the Shuttle for two days to study the sun and the solar wind, research that may help scientists better understand a phenomenon that sometimes can cause widespread disruptions of communications and power supplies on Earth. Additional Details: here....

1998 November 2 - .

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 09 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Duque; Glenn; Husband; Lindsey; Mukai; Parazynski; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's astronauts were awakened at 6 a.m. Central time this morning by Andy Williams' rendition of the 1962 Academy Award winning song, "Moon River." Annie Glenn requested the song as a tribute to the longstanding friendship between Williams and her husband, Payload Specialist John Glenn. The seven crew members are looking forward to some free time today, following yesterday's successful deployment of the Spartan solar physics satellite, which will study the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere until it is retrieved by Discovery tomorrow. Additional Details: here....

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 12 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Duque; Glenn; Lindsey; Mukai; Parazynski; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. The SPARTAN satellite was captured and returned to its berth this afternoon, successfully completing its two-day solar science mission. SPARTAN Mission Manager Craig Toohey congratulated the crew and flight control team on their performance in executing the mission exactly as planned. Toohey said that 30 percent of the science data already had been linked to the ground and the remainder would be off-loaded at landing. SPARTAN Scientist Dr. Richard Fisher noted that investigators were pleased to have the satellite in orbit near a solar maximum cycle and that its instruments had captured sought-after data on a solar mass ejection event. Additional Details: here....

1998 November 3 - .

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 11 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Duque; Glenn; Lindsey; Mukai; Parazynski; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's astronauts began the second half of their flight at 5:25 a.m. Central time this morning to the sounds of Stevie Ray Vaughn's "If the House is A-Rockin," in honor of Mission Specialist Steve Robinson. Robinson is known as "Stevie Ray Robinson" by the other members of the astronaut band known as "Max Q". After enjoying a break in their schedule yesterday, the crew is focusing its attention on this afternoon's retrieval of the Spartan solar physics satellite, which has spent the past two days studying the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere. Retrieval is set for 2:45 p.m. Central time. Additional Details: here....

1998 November 4 - .

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 13 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Duque; Glenn; Lindsey; Mukai; Parazynski; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Music from Japan awakened Discovery's astronauts at 4:50 a.m. Central time this morning. "Wakaki Chi," a cheering song from Keio University where Payload Specialist Chiaki Mukai received her medical degree, was played in recognition of the phone call she will receive at 2:55 p.m. from Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Minister of State for Science and Technology, Yutaka Takeyama. Additional Details: here....

1998 November 4 - .

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 14 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Duque; Glenn; Lindsey; Mukai; Parazynski; Robinson. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. The seventh day in orbit for Space Shuttle Discovery and its seven-member astronaut crew was packed with ongoing science operations. Early in the day, Mission Specialist Steve Robinson, assisted by Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski, tested the Orbiter Space Vision System. OSVS uses special markings on Spartan and the shuttle cargo bay to provide an alignment aid for the arm's operator using shuttle television images. This was its final on-orbit test before going into operational use on the next Space Shuttle flight in December as an aid in using the arm to join together the first two modules of the International Space Station. Additional Details: here....

STS-95 Mission Status Report # 17 - .
Nation: USA. Related Persons: Brown; Glenn; Lindsey. Program: STS. Flight: STS-95. Discovery's astronauts were awakened at 3:40 a.m. Central time this morning to begin their final full day in orbit and make preparations to assure that Discovery is ready for entry and landing. Today's wake-up song was "Voyage into Space," an original composition written for John Glenn by composer and pianist Peter Nero, a long-time friend of the Glenns. Additional Details: here....